The historic success of Jumeirah English Speaking School girls at the Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens this week was “huge for sport in the UAE in general”, according to the side’s coach.
The London-based festival, which has been running since 1937, is said to be the largest schools rugby event in the world. There were 1,203 teams involved this week.
JESS became the first international winners in the Under-14 Girls tournament when they beat Oakham School in the final. On route to the title, they beat Dubai English Speaking College in the semi-final.
Bradley Janes, the lead girls rugby coach at JESS, was already well aware of the esteem in which Rosslyn Park is held, having played in the tournament himself in the past.
He said his side did not know what would constitute success ahead of the trip to London, but that they had been quietly confident.
“We see this as a big win, not just for JESS – and of course, it’s huge – but for sport in the UAE in general,” he said. “It shows that we are competing at the top in the world, now.
“I had high aspirations with the team we brought as they are such great players, but to go and actually do it, we are so proud of them.
“They have been working so hard in the lead up to the tournament, before school, with early mornings all through the week.
“Not knowing too much about the competition we just focused on what we could do and working as hard as we possibly can. That has paid off.”
Female sides from the UAE only started competing at Rosslyn Park in 2022 when the Dubai College U18s sent a team.
Within two years, the city has had two girls’ teams reaching the last four of a tournament.
JESS scored 230 points and conceded just 24, with Hind Salam being named player of the tournament.
The identity of their opposition in the final is evidence of the high standard at which they are competing. Oakham counts among its former pupils the former England men's captain Lewis Moody, ex-British & Irish Lion Tom Croft and current Scotland player Hamish Watson.
“Back home we have good competition, and with Dubai College and DESC, we are all pushing each other constantly to get better,” Janes added.
“Coming here you get a perspective of where you are outside of that Dubai bubble. Hearing all those big-name schools, the girls could easily have gone into their shells.
“They did the complete opposite, and performed so well. They stepped up amazingly.”
Charlotte Battiston, the JESS captain, said the side had adapted well to conditions which are entirely alien to them. The weather in London this week has been cloudy, with temperatures topping out in the low mid-teens.
“We felt like we had a good chance of getting through but we never expected to win through that far,” Battiston said.
“The competition is completely different to Dubai and it has been really cool playing in another country.
“In Dubai the ground is always dry and the air is warm, but here it is so much colder. We pushed through it. Our team are all just best mates and it is such a good environment to play in.”
Along with a number of her JESS teammates, Battiston was up against some of her Dubai Hurricanes club colleagues when they faced DESC in the semi-final.
She said they were grateful to them for staying around to support them in the final.
“We were confident going into the game but expected nothing,” she said of the 29-5 win in the last four.
“We went in thinking it was any other game against any other school. It was great that they came back to support us. They are also our friends from outside school, so it was nice to have them.”
Janes hopes the success in London will inspire even more girls to take up rugby.
“As soon as people start seeing what is possible and think, ‘Oh, I actually can do that,’ participation increases,” he said.
“With that, competition increases and competition breeds success. I guess that is the story here at JESS.
“It is great that we have so many numbers playing. Hopefully this is just the start, and more and more kids will take up rugby. This big win will hopefully inspire them to do that.”
UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
India cancels school-leaving examinations
Results
2.30pm: Expo 2020 Dubai – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,600m; Winner: Barakka, Ray Dawson (jockey), Ahmad bin Harmash (trainer)
3.05pm: Now Or Never – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: One Idea, Andrea Atzeni, Doug Watson
3.40pm: This Is Our Time – Handicap (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Perfect Balance, Tadhg O’Shea, Bhupat Seemar
4.15pm: Visit Expo 2020 – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Kaheall, Richard Mullen, Salem bin Ghadayer
4.50pm: The World In One Place – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1.900m; Winner: Castlebar, Adrie de Vries, Helal Al Alawi
5.25pm: Vision – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Shanty Star, Richard Mullen, Rashed Bouresly
6pm: Al Wasl Plaza – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Jadwal, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson
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The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
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Man United: Sanchez (24' ), Herrera (62')
Spurs: Alli (11')
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Number of employees: 40
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- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Saint-Etienne v Montpellier (10.45pm)
Saturday
Monaco v Caen (7pm)
Amiens v Bordeaux (10pm)
Angers v Toulouse (10pm)
Metz v Dijon (10pm)
Nantes v Guingamp (10pm)
Rennes v Lille (10pm)
Sunday
Nice v Strasbourg (5pm)
Troyes v Lyon (7pm)
Marseille v Paris Saint-Germain (11pm)
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
Scores
New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs
New Zealand win by 47 runs
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
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Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets